Welcome to Madrid! As the NFL raises the curtain on more international history, we look ahead to Sunday in Week 11 of the season on the road to Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara...
Something old, something new, something Burrowed, something blue. The NFL edition.
As we gazed down from high in the Superdome press box at February's Super Bowl in New Orleans, we witnessed a Travis Kelce seemingly beyond the peak of his great Hall of Fame powers. So long Kansas City's talisman, and so long Patrick Mahomes' telepathic executioner, Kelce was struggling to jump off the line of scrimmage in the face of a rampant Philadelphia Eagles defense flying in what felt like fast-forward.
His release was laboured, his route breaks were being smothered and the Eagles were jamming him with continued success, at the heart of which, admittedly, was not only Kelce's to-be-expected regression but also the frailties of an offensive line that forced an entire Chiefs offense to operate at an unattainable speed. Mahomes didn't really stand a chance. An out-ran and out-muscled DeAndre Hopkins had endured a similarly epiphanic moment in the latter years of his career.
But toss Kelce back into a less one-dimensional passing attack, and you still have a precisely-packaged chain-moving X-Factor. The return of Rashee Rice has threatened signs of a domino effect, whereby his route-running versatility has freed up Xavier Worthy's more predictable run-after-catch and vertical concepts, and whereby the presence of multiple flyers has taken some heat off Kelce while allowing him to hone in on his bread-and-butter plays. He had led all NFL tight ends in receiving yards at the age of 36 heading into Week 10, and still has a starring role to play across the second half of the campaign as he chases his eighth 1,000-yard campaign. If only the Chiefs had a competent, feared running game to match.
Nobody is saying he remains anything close to the Kelce that torched the league alongside Mahomes, but, despite setbacks, he is standing the test of time with another playoff opportunity - where he shines best - in his sights. Can he still do it? Let's see.
P.S. 36 is not old. But it worked for the opening line. And, in truth, Kelce has been arrowed for some time.
The 'something new' arrives in Madrid as the Miami Dolphins face the Washington Commanders at the iconic newly renovated Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for the NFL's first-ever regular-season game in Spain. It concludes a record seven-game international slate in 2025 following Sao Paulo, Dublin, three games in London and a trip to Berlin as the NFL remains on the march towards its coveted 16 international games per season. Having taken the game to Mexico City and Brazil, the league will honour Spanish-speaking audiences again while bringing Latin American music to Madrid's half-time show in a season that will conclude with Puerto Rico's Bad Bunny leading the interval entertainment at Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara.
We have all too cleverly re-imagined 'something borrowed' as 'something Burrowed' after the Cincinnati Bengals opened quarterback Joe Burrow's 21-day practice window. Burrow has been out since Week Two with a toe injury, but returned in a limited capacity on Wednesday with the hope Cincinnati are still afloat in the playoff race come his anticipated return after Thanksgiving. A demoralising last-gasp 47-42 defeat to the Chicago Bears in Week Nine proved a damning dent to their chances, but with Joe Flacco and a wide-open AFC has come hope there will be a chance.
And for the 'something blue'? That, of course, brings us to Jameis Winston. The New York Giants, who just fired head coach Brian Daboll, announced this week that the universally-loved Winston will start at quarterback against the Green Bay Packers ahead of Russell Wilson after Jaxson Dart was ruled out due to a concussion. Winston marked his first press conference by singing a line from Hamilton to express his excitement.
"This is something I've been doing since I was four years old. Now, I get to do it in the greatest city in the world," Winston sang. "I'm gonna be singing it with my son.
"It's the greatest city in the world!" That's a 'Hamilton' reference, if y'all don't know."
We are so back.
SportNews statistician - and Buffalo Bills fan - Benedict Bermange breaks down some of the key stats heading into Sunday...
Washington Commanders @ Miami Dolphins in Madrid - KO 2.30pm, SportNews NFL
The Commanders arrive in Madrid after losing five straight games, with each of the last four coming by 20 points or more in a tie for the longest streak of defeats by 20 points in franchise history, set in 1954. Miami are meanwhile 38-0 in regular-season games where they have scored at least 20 points, marking the only team without a loss in 30-point games in that span. They are riding the momentum of a shock 30-13 win over Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills, during which De'Von Achane starred with 22 carries for 174 yards and two touchdowns alongside six catches for 51 yards.
Washington notably remain without quarterback Jayden Daniels, in whose place Marcus Mariota will start, and star wide receiver Terry McLaurin.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Buffalo Bills - KO 6pm, SportNews NFL & Part SS Main Event
The Buffalo Bills have a 'make it make sense' conundrum to answer for in the wake of their upset 30-13 defeat to the thought-to-be-down-and-out Miami Dolphins, just a week removed from their victory over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to underline their Super Bowl credentials. Miami's much-maligned defense bottled up James Cook and the Bills offense as Josh Allen tossed an end zone interception and as a receiving core devoid of a reliable No 1 needle-mover came under further scrutiny. Khalil Shakir has his sporadic moments as one of the league's most dynamic yards-after-catch slot receivers, but continues to receive little in the way of help from an under-performing Keon Coleman.
Chicago Bears @ Minnesota Vikings - KO 6pm, SportNews+
By now the Vikings and Kevin O'Connell will realise it will take some added patience and persistence when it comes to the development of quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The 2024 No 10 overall pick recently reclaimed his starting spot from the injured Carson Wentz, but was a non-factor while bearing the brunt of Baltimore's defensive resurgence last weekend. He now meets the No 1 pick of his class in Caleb Williams in a crucial matchup as the Vikings look to stay alive in the NFC North. Williams and Ben Johnson are beginning to heat up, at least in the wins column, as their relationship grows by the week to the reward of a five-game winning streak with the playoffs in mind.
Seattle Seahawks @ Los Angeles Rams - KO 6pm, SportNews+
Sam Darnold vs Matthew Stafford. Jaxon Smith-Njigba vs Puka Nacua. Mike Macdonald vs Sean McVay. And two youthful high-flying defenses. Week 11 delivers a meeting of the NFC's two best teams hurtling towards the playoffs, within which you would be hard-pressed to find many quarterbacks playing better football than the two MVP contenders on display. Stafford, in particular, leads the NFL with 25 touchdowns to two interceptions. Smith-Njigba has cemented himself under the league's premium pass-catchers as an Offensive Player of the Year candidate, while outside of Nacua and Davante Adams, McVay continues to find joy with multiple tight end packages that just bludgeoned the 49ers having also dazzled against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals - KO 9.05pm, SportNews+ (stream)
The 49ers are expected to welcome Brock Purdy back under center this week having been without their starting quarterback for six games since he suffered a toe injury against Seattle in Week One. Mac Jones has won the admiration of both head coach Kyle Shanahan and his teammates in Purdy's absence by winning five of his eight starts and averaging 268.9 yards passing per game, though Shanahan has insisted returning to Purdy would not be a difficult decision. San Francisco are meanwhile seeking a spike on the ground, having averaged just 94.8 rushing yards per game this season, their worst through 10 games since 2007, despite Christian McCaffrey ranking second in scrimmage yards.
Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos - KO 9.25pm, SportNews NFL + Main Event
The Chiefs broke Broncos hearts this season as they blocked a last-second field goal to clinch a dramatic 16-14 victory amid their run of one-score success. This time, it is the Broncos who are finding ways to win having seen all eight of their wins this season come in games during which they have trailed; they are also 4-0 in games in which they have been behind in the fourth quarter. The Chiefs this week reintroduced rookie left tackle Josh Simmons to practice for the first time since mid-October following his absence for undisclosed personal reasons. While they won't seek to rush him back, his return beckons as a major boost to Mahomes' pass-protection on the road to the playoffs.
Detroit Lions @ Philadelphia Eagles - KO 1.20am Monday morning, SportNews NFL & Main Event
Howie Roseman might have done it again. The NFL's famed roster-building mastermind struck again ahead of the trade deadline earlier this month when he acquired former Dolphins edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, who marked his debut with eight pressures, five stops, a fumble recovery and a 19.4 per cent pressure rate in Monday night's 10-7 win over the Green Bay Packers. Philly, however, may not be able to rely on a defensive fist fight this weekend as a dormant AJ Brown-peeving offense continuing to find its groove under Kevin Patullo faces a prospective shootout against Jared Goff and his Lions firing squad. Philly's pass offense currently ranks 10th-worst in the league, while 10th worst in total yards as they face Detroit's No 2-ranked scoring attack.
Eagles WR AJ Brown: "If you got me on fantasy, man, get rid of me."
Jags HC Liam Coen on Travis Hunter after his season-ending injury: "I understand there's a lot of questions about if he'll remain a two-way player and all those kind of things. All of that is very premature"
Lions HC Dan Campbell on the Eagles' 'tush push' play: "I'm a purist. You take something else out of the game, then we're taking the next thing out of the game and pretty soon we don't have pads anymore. I don't want to take it out of the game. It's something a team's got a niche, they've found something, they're good at it, and it's for everybody else to stop."
Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer on the late Marshawn Kneeland: "My heart is heavy. Our team's heart is heavy. We don't move on, but we do move forward."
Giants QB Jameis Winston: "I want fans to know that I'm gonna do my best. Obviously, I'm gonna have fun, but I'm gonna have a surgical execution and just play ball, man."
49ers HC Kyle Shanahan on starting Brock Purdy despite the strong form of Mac Jones: "No. It's not a hard decision. It's just more about Brock's health. It's been awesome how Mac has played. He has been great. But we've got a lot of confidence in Brock and we know Brock will play at a high level too as long as he's healthy."
Hola y bienvenido a Madrid. Hello, and welcome to Madrid, where a fusion of sporting behemoths and cultural magnitude brews in wait as one of the NFL's most momentous global power moves yet.
"This is going to be like a mini Super Bowl," Rafael De Los Santos, NFL Spain Country Manager, told SportNews NFL.
We meet IFAF president Pierre Trochet to discuss Flag football's historic Olympics debut at Los Angeles 2028.
"In Samoa we entered an IFAF competition for the first time, we are going to Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Uganda. We are obviously in all the NFL market, but also way, way beyond.
"It's a global phenomenon."
Meet Jacquelyn Dahl, the agent of Patrick Mahomes searching for the future Olympic stars of Flag Football.
"I think that female flag football players are going to be the icons of LA 2028, it's happening."
Meet Samuel Oram-Jones, the old team-mate of George Russell and Max Verstappen who left racing and built an American football career spanning Nashville, Tokyo, Prague and Berlin.
Gabi Bankhardt is Samba. She is Bossa Nova. She is Christ the Redeemer and she is Carnival. She is the favelas. She is churrasco and she is Copacabana. She is mutirao.
Meet the face of Brazilian Flag Football inspiring the next generation of Latin American boys and girls.
Benson Jerry. The kid with the fancy footwork. The kid who borrowed 30p for the bus. The kid who had never tried lasagne. The kid who had never flown. The no-longer-a-kid becoming the inspiration kids like him never had.
SportNews NFL's new series 'NFL to the World' shines a light on stories of how American Football has expanded beyond the borders of the United States; we meet Geraint Griffiths, the man leading Wheelchair American Football's pursuit of a dream place at the Paralympics.
Watch the 2025 NFL season live on SportNews, including every minute of the playoffs and Super Bowl LX; or .
